Saturday, April 30, 2011

I do try to be a good girl. Whenever I read a book, I try not to be over critical of the person's writing. That only reflects poorly on me no matter if I find something wrong or not. It looks like I'm jealous as they're published and I'm not. My goal when I read a new book is to be entertained and ignore anything I would've done differently. Otherwise, I would end up feeling badly about my attitude. There's room for everyone to be published and everyone has a chance at being a New York Times #1 best selling author.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Different contest judges have called my manuscript, OUT OF THE SHADOWS, a thriller and some said it's a suspense novel. I don't think it's either. I believe it's a spy/mercenary romance. Anyway, I decided to look up the meanings.

Wow! There are a lot of opinions out there but truthfully several missed the mark. Most don't even really answer the question. So here's my opinion for whatever little it's worth.

Thriller: A situation that becomes bad, worse and then terrible. It usually grows from one person who wants something. He/she is obsessed and unreasonable. The reader often knows the person who has gone crazy. He/she may start small but their desire for whatever escalates. One website mentioned usually a thriller crosses borders or statelines with a larger than life feel to it.

Suspense: Normally the reader doesn't know who's the killer. The bad guy (or gal) can be a serial killer or just after one person in the story. I believe a suspense is more centered on a small area or group. A mystery is often woven through the story.

Monday, April 18, 2011

No. This isn't a long spill of sarcastic comments about judges and their lack of intelligence. And, yes, I received some results back. Why do judges go on and on how wonderful something is and then deduct points without comments? Most confusing.
Maybe this is a sign that I've improved and the judges didn't realize they were only voicing their displeasure at not having the whole book? LOL! I'm such a dreamer.

Anyone recognize the title of this post? Hint. It's from the song from the 1970s. Bing it.

Friday, April 15, 2011

As you can tell from the last two posts, editing is on my mind. If you're paying attention to the meters on the top right of my blog, you'll notice they haven't increased in a few days. I decided with 10 books completed and sitting to be bought...well, four of them are publish worthy...I need to make sure they're top notch before I finish another book. Yes, I have edited them before.

Though two beta readers have gone over my latest and made comments and I've gone over the finished book, reading most of it outloud, I started thinking of a few things I wanted to change. So I decided it wouldn't hurt to go over it one more time. Then that will be it until an agent or editor wants me to do revisions or whatever. Note the positive thinking.

I understand that everytime we write a new book, we become better. BUT ELEVEN BOOKS, FOLKS! True only four are decent (I believe) but I need to see more results. Otherwise, I feel like I'm spitting in the wind.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Over at Romance Magicians yesterday, I posted an article about editing and grammar. A website I would like to recommend is http://www.grammardivas.com/. They have some great advice plus they're wonderful about answering your questions quickly.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

I found an old VHS of Disney cartoons for my grandson to watch. There was a little preview at the beginning with the three little pigs. My grandson said, "I watched this one before. It's the three little pigs and the werewolf tries to get them."

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Considering I enter, judge, and coordinate contests along with train judges, I believe I know a few things. I have to say I'm tired of judges trying to change manuscripts into their voices. When you catch yourself changing nearly every sentence and it's not a grammar issue, maybe the voice isn't one you like. So walk away or mention one of two things and then let it go.

Yes. This is one of my little rants. As you guessed I received some scores on a contest I entered (yeah, did not final). One judge said my heroine's emotions were all over the board. The other one said she was consistent. I believe if a person is going through a trauma and her emotions are steady, then something's wrong. You didn't expect that, did you? Yes. The former judge meant it bad and gave me a low score.

Let me explain. I've had a gun pointed at me during a robbery (I worked in a drug store at the time. Kind of explains itself, huh?) and I can tell you my mind was all over the board. Scared with snatches of humor (Surely it was a poor joke -it wasn't), I still kept an eye out for an opportunity to run. And I did when the gun went off. So in extreme situations, unless you're a robot and have no feelings, your emotions will be everywhere.

And I got the comment "this is a romantic suspense." I had entered it in Contemporary Single Title. But when I enter it into RS, they say it's erotica or a thriller. What does that have to do with it? A story is a story is a story.

Oh, and don't count how many times "was" was used. Goodness pick up a book. It's okay. I swear.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Everyone has heard the following joke. In fact, I heard a version of it in the movie EAT PRAY LOVE.

Every day a woman prays to the Lord, "Please Lord let me win the lottery."
Faithfully, she pleads again, "Today, Please let me win the lottery."
Then one day a deep voice from heaven says, "Do me a favor. Buy a ticket."

It's amazing how many people miss the point of this wise joke.

Lots of people out there say they want to be published, but never finish a book, never try to improve by joining a critique group, never submit a finished one or willingly submit again and again and again.

Editors do not come knocking on your door asking, "Do you have a book to sell?" You have to get off your butt and find the editor who wants to buy your book. Of course, first you have to finish that book and make it the best.

About Me

Carla Swafford loves romance novels, action/adventure movies and men, and her books reflect that. Plus she's a rare creature in the Deep South, she loves hockey. Carla's married to her high school sweetheart and lives in Alabama.